A student protest in Aizawl over the delay in the disbursement of scholarships entered its third day today, Thursday, November 16. The protesters are demanding the immediate disbursement of the second installment of scholarship money to over 19,000 beneficiaries.
Agitators, under the aegis of Mizoram's apex student body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), have been staging a sit-in demonstration outside the Mizoram Scholarship Board office since Tuesday, November 14. On Thursday, they prevented scholarship board officials from entering the office, as per a report by PTI.
MZP President H Lalthianghlima claimed that the state government received over Rs 17.87 crore funds for the disbursement of scholarships on September 25, but the officials did not make sincere efforts to release the money, and negligence on their part has affected thousands of students. He claimed that 19,495 students, including 3,010 studying outside the state, are entitled to receive the money under the second installment of the scholarship.
Scholarship board officials, however, claimed that the money was not disbursed due to the imposition of the model code of conduct in view of the state assembly polls held on November 7. They added that they were waiting for permission from the Election Commission to release the scholarship amount.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Zoramthanga held a meeting with scholarship board officials and MZP leaders over the matter. The outcome of the meeting, however, is yet to be known, as per PTI.
Earlier, on Tuesday, MZP leaders had met the state joint chief electoral officer and sent a letter to the Election Commission over the matter. They also met Chief Secretary Renu Sharma on Wednesday, November 15, and informed her of their problems.
